The International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-km (4500 mile) long multi-mode network of

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

, and

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

route for moving freight between

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The route primarily involves moving

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

from

and the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

via ship, rail and road. The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Bandar Abbas Bandar Abbas (, ) is a city in the Central District of Bandar Abbas County, Hormozgan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Bandar Abbas is a port on the southern coast of the country, on the Persian ...

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

Bandar Anzali Bandar-e Anzali () is a city on the Caspian Sea in the Central District of Bandar-e Anzali County, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of both the county and the district. History Anzali is an old city in ancient Iran, first se ...

, etc. Dry runs of two routes were conducted in 2014, the first was Mumbai to Baku via Bandar Abbas and the second was Mumbai to Astrakhan via Bandar Abbas, Tehran and Bandar Anzali. The objective of the study was to identify and address key

bottleneck Bottleneck may refer to: * the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle Science and technology * Bottleneck (engineering), where the performance of an entire system is limited by a single component * Bottleneck (network), in a communication network * ...

s. The results showed transport costs were reduced by "$2,500 per 15 tons of cargo". Other routes under consideration include via

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. This will also synchronize with the Ashgabat agreement, a

Multimodal transport Multimodal transport (also known as combined transport) is the transportation of goods under a single contract, but performed with at least two different modes of transport; the carrier is liable (in a legal sense) for the entire carriage, even t ...

agreement signed by

(2018),

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

(2011),

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, (2011)

(2015) ''(figure in the bracket indicates the year of joining the agreement)'', for creating an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. This route will be operationalised by mid-January 2018.

Objectives

The primary objective of the NSTC project is to reduce costs in terms of time and money over the traditional route currently being used. Analysts predict by having improved transport connectivity between

and

their respective

bilateral trade Bilateral trade or clearing trade is trade exclusively between two states, particularly, barter trade based on bilateral deals between governments, and without using hard currency for payment. Bilateral trade agreements often aim to keep trade d ...

volumes will increase. A study conducted by the Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) www.fffai.org '' found the route is, "30% cheaper and 40% shorter than the current traditional route". Analysts predict the corridor is likely to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as

etc.

History

Russian, Iranian and Indian representatives signed the agreement for the NSTC project on 16 May 2002.Tembarai Krishnamachari, Rajesh. , South Asia Analysis Group, Paper 829, Nov 2003. All three countries are founding member states on the project. Other important member states include

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

with other states having varying levels of involvement. Azerbaijan is heavily involved in the project currently building new train lines and roads to complete missing links in the NSTC.

currently is not a formal member but is likely to have a road connectivity to the corridor.

Prime Minister Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the member of parliament (MP) for Varanas ...

during a state visit to Turkmenistan formally invited it to become a member state on the project, "I also proposed that Turkmenistan becomes a member of the International North South Transport Corridor."

Member states

* ''Members'' — , , , , , , , , , , , , . * ''Observers'' — .

Azerbaijan road and rail routes

The NSTC route through Azerbaijan allows India–Iran–Azerbaijan–Russia–Kazakhstan transport connectivity. Iran started construction work to complete the missing link of the Astara–Rasht–Qazvin railway (205 km; 127 miles) and road including part of the Astara–Rasht section (164 km; 102 miles). It involves construction of 369 km (230 miles) of bridges and railway line to link the southern sections to the northern ones. Once completed, 22 new tunnels and 15 bridges will have been added to the route. On 7 January 2017, it was announced that the remaining construction of Qazvin to Rasht rail route is 90% complete and will be completed within 2017, whilst construction on the first section of the remaining Rasht-Astara section of road would also start in 2017.

Chabahar NSTC integration

India and Iran have a long-standing agreement, signed in 2002, to develop

Chabahar Chabahar ( (); ) is a city in the Central District (Chabahar County), Central District of Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is ...

into full deep sea port.

port handles 85% of Iran's seaborne trade and is highly congested. Whereas, Chabahar has high capacity with plans to expand it from its current capacity of 2.5 million to 12.5 million tons annually. Unlike Bandar Abbas, Chabahar has the ability to handle

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

s bigger than 100,000 tons. Industry Analysts have highlighted there are long term plans to integrate Chabahar with the NSTC, "India is also eyeing trade with Europe via Chabahar port and the International North-South Transport Corridor".

Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan-Iran railway link

The Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan–Iran railway link, completed and operationalized in 2014, also known as North–South Transnational Corridor, is a long railway line connecting

and

with

and the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. It links Uzen in Kazakhstan with

Bereket Bereket, formerly Gazanjyk or ''Kazandzhik'' ( or gɑˈzɑnd͡ʒik), is a List of cities in Turkmenistan, city in Balkan Province in western Turkmenistan. Bereket is the administrative centre of Bereket District. Bereket is located in an oasis ...

- Etrek in Turkmenistan and ends at

Gorgan Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Gorgan County), Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the nor ...

in Iran's Golestan province. In Iran, the railway will be linked to national network making its way to the ports of the Persian Gulf. The project is estimated to cost $620m which is being jointly funded by the governments of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. The project also aims to create a multimodal transport system to provide seamless connectivity in the region for passenger travel as well. The North-South Transnational Corridor will run up to in Kazakhstan, in Turkmenistan and in Iran. Work in Turkmenistan commenced in

in December 2007 and in Kazakhstan in July 2009. A section between Bereket and Uzen in Turkmenistan is being financed by the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

(ADB). A memorandum of understanding was signed between ADB and the Turkmenistan government in February 2010, for a $350m loan as a special fund for technical assistance. The project loan was for the installation of signalling and communication equipment on the ongoing railway line, procurement of equipment and maintenance facilities, consulting, and for the management and supervision of construction. The project also received a loan of $371.2m from the

Islamic Development Bank The Islamic Development Bank (, abbreviated as IsDB) is a multilateral development finance institution that is focused on Islamic finance for infrastructure development and located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There are 57 shareholding member st ...

in July 2010. In May 2013, a Bereket – Uzen section was completed. In February 2014, long section between Bereket and Etrek was constructed. Currently, railway stations along the new railway are being constructed. Bereket city (''

Kazandjik Bereket, formerly Gazanjyk or ''Kazandzhik'' ( or gɑˈzɑnd͡ʒik), is a city in Balkan Province in western Turkmenistan. Bereket is the administrative centre of Bereket District. Bereket is located in an oasis in the foothills of the Kopetd ...

'') is strategically important railway crossroad of the

Trans-Caspian Railway The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, ) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by the Russian Empire during its expansion into Central Asia in the 19t ...

(

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

and eastern

) and North-South Transnational Railway. The city has a large

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

repair depot and a modern passenger and freight railway station. In December 2014 the railway opened.

Armenia–Iran Railway Concession

Armenia–Iran Railway Concession, also called as Southern Armenia Railway or North-South Railway Corridor, as of April 2017, the project remains only on paper and has no financier as the economic feasibility is doubtful, though Armenia continues to try to find sponsors and private investors to make the project economically more viable. On 28 July 2012, a concession agreement was awarded to Dubai-based Rasia FZE (a Rasia Group investment company) for the feasibility, design, financing, construction and operation of a new railway link between Armenia and Iran having an operating period of 30 years, with a right of extension for another 20 years. The Armenia-Iran railway is called the Southern Armenia Railway project, which forms the key missing link in the International North-South Transport Corridor between the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and the

. Prior to the feasibility study being completed, the Southern Armenia Railway was anticipated to be a 316 km (196 mile) railway linking

Gavar Gavar ( ) is a town in Armenia serving as the administrative centre of the Gavar Municipality and the Gegharkunik Province. It is situated among the high mountains of Gegham range to the west of Lake Sevan, with an average height of 1982 meter ...

, 50 km (30 miles) east of Yerevan near Lake Sevan, with the Iranian border near

Meghri Meghri ( ; ) is a town and the centre of the Meghri Municipality of the Syunik Province in southern Armenia, near the border with Iran. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 4,580. According to the 2020 official estimate, Meghri's ...

. On 24 January 2013, during an announcement and press conference, the previously signed concession agreement was announced and a separate tripartite memorandum of understanding was signed in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

by Rasia FZE, Russian Railways ( RZD) subsidiary South Caucasus Railway, and the government of Armenia concerning technical cooperation, investment, and the future operation of the Southern Armenia Railway. Rasia FZE announced its appointment of

China Communications Construction Company China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC) is a Chinese majority state-owned, publicly traded, multinational engineering and construction company primarily engaged in the design, construction, and operation of infrastructure assets, ...

as the "lead member of the development consortium" for the project and the commencement of the feasibility study. Following a meeting on 3 September 2013 with

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan (, ; born 30 June 1954)Official biography of Serzh Sargsyan

, the President of

, President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

of the

stated that Russian Railways can invest about RUB 15 billion in the development of the Armenian Railway. In mid-September 2013, Rasia FZE announced in a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister

Tigran Sargsyan Tigran Sureni Sargsyan (; born 29 January 1960) is an Armenian political figure who was Prime Minister of Armenia from 2008 to 2014. Previously he was Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia from 1998 to 2008. After leaving office as prime minis ...

the achievement of a key milestone for the Southern Armenia Railway, including the release of a highly favorable feasibility study and the recommended railway design route from

China Communications Construction China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC) is a Chinese majority state-owned, publicly traded, multinational engineering and construction company primarily engaged in the design, construction, and operation of infrastructure assets, ...

Company. Having reached this key milestone, Rasia FZE moved to secure essential regional cooperation for the financing, construction and operation stages of the project. The feasibility study results indicated that the Southern Armenia Railway would cost approximately US $3.5 billion to construct, have a length of 305 kilometers (190 miles) from Gagarin to Agarak, and provide a base operating capacity of 25 million tons per annum. The railway will have 84 bridges spanning 19.6 kilometers (12¼ miles) and 60 tunnels of 102.3 kilometers (63½ miles), comprising 40% of the total project length. As the key missing link in the International North–South Transport Corridor, the Southern Armenia Railway would create the shortest transportation route from the ports of the

to the ports of the Persian Gulf. The Southern Armenia Railway would establish a major commodities transit corridor between Europe and the Persian Gulf region, based on traffic volume forecasts of 18.3 million tons per annum. At completion of railway construction and commencement of operations, transport costs and times for the region are expected to improve substantially, fostering greater regional trade and economic growth with extraordinary direct benefits for the Armenian economy including an alleviation of the economic pressures caused by the blockade against Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan due to Armenia's and Azerbaijan's war over

Karabakh Karabakh ( ; ) is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and Aras. It is divided into three regions: Highland Kara ...

Astara port inaugurated

In March 2013

inaugurated the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

of Astara located south-west of the

. The port has been integrated with the NSTC to improve its maritime connectivity across the Caspian Sea. Iran has invested 22 million dollars in the port and plan to increase investment by 10% to expand the port. The Current capacity is 600,000 tons but there is plans to increase this to 3 million tons.

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS) are the main producers of grains which will be exported to Africa through Iran Bandar Abbas port. The port will allow Russian goods to reach inland provinces of Iran faster and cheaper. Product from

can be sent to India through Iran's

port which is the fastest way to reach

Iranrud Trans-Iranian canal

Iranrud (Iran's river) is a plan to build a canal from Caspian sea to Indian Ocean, with two routes, a river through

Dasht-e Lut The Lut Desert, widely referred to as Dasht-e Lut (, "Emptiness Plain"), is a salt desert located in the provinces of Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan, Iran. It is the world's 33rd-largest desert, and was included in UNESCO's World Heritage List ...

and another canal to

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...

and after that to

. The idea of linking the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea by a canal was developed already in the late 19th century.

Bottleneck study of 2014

Dry runs of two routes were conducted in 2014, the first was Mumbai to Baku via Bandar Abbas and the second was Mumbai to Astrakhan via Bandar Abbas, Tehran and Bandar Anzali. The objective of the study was to identify and address key

s. The results showed transport costs were reduced by "$2,500 per 15 tons of cargo". Other routes under consideration include via

and

Current status

A dry run of container movement via the green corridor was conducted during April 2017 to test and verify the smooth customs facilitation, connecting India with Russia and Europe via Iran. On 7 July 2022, Russian company RZD Logistics announced that it has successfully completed its first transport of goods to India via the INSTC. This statement was also confirmed by Iranian and Indian trade companies.

Advantages of INSTC

The positioning of the INSTC as an alternative to the conventional deep sea

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

route is another major advantage of this route, taking into account geostrategic and economic diplomacy for all the involved countries, particularly Iran and Russia, both of which are subject to U.S. sanctions, in addition to the fact that it is more cost-effective and saves a significant amount of travel time. According to a survey by ‘Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI) found INSTC is "30 percent cheaper and 40 percent shorter than the traditional route via the Suez Canal."

External links

* * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:International North-South Transport Corridor Caspian Sea Caucasus Economic history of Russia Economic integration Economy of Central Asia Economy of Iran International rail transport International railway lines International road networks Passenger rail transport Rail cooperatives Rail freight transport Rail transport in Asia Rail transport in Europe Rail transport in Russia Rail transport in Turkmenistan Railway lines in Turkmenistan Road transport in Asia Road transport in Europe Sea lanes Trade routes Transnationalism Transport corridors Transport in Central Asia Transport in India Transport in Iran Transport in Mumbai Transport in Turkmenistan

Objectives

History

Member states

Azerbaijan road and rail routes

Chabahar NSTC integration

Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan-Iran railway link

Armenia–Iran Railway Concession

Astara port inaugurated

Iranrud Trans-Iranian canal

Bottleneck study of 2014

Current status

Advantages of INSTC

See also

External links

References